Beat That Disney Heat With These Top 5 Indoor WDW Attractions

Summer at Disney means high temperatures, but even worse than that – it means high humidity too – and that means sticky, heavy air and the near certainty of daily afternoon showers – but luckily, all is NOT lost if you plan on visiting WDW in the summer – as there are plenty of INDOOR attractions/rides that will help keep you cool (Seriously though – I shudder to think how much WDW pays to air condition their property each summer!).

Check these out next time you need to chill out:

Dinosaur – This ride is located in Animal Kingdom’s Dinoland, and it takes you into the “Dino Institute” – where you travel 65 million years back in time to the Cretaceous period where you will encounter a meteor shower, plus plenty of larger than life dinos! The queue, waiting areas, and ride are all indoors, and even if the wait is long there’s quite a lot to see while you wait – fossils and photos, and multimedia shows as well as an intro before you board the Jeep-like vehicle for your trip back in time! This may seem like a pretty tame ride at the onset, but there are seat belts in the cars, and you will get jerked around quite a bit as you dodge the T-Rex

The Great Movie Ride – You enter this attraction on Hollywood Blvd at Disney’s Hollywood Studios through a replica of the famous Mann’s Chinese Theater, and as you weave through the queue, you can check out many genuine movie props and costumes, and there are even vintage film clips to keep you entertained too! You board long tram cars and then take a “ride into the movies!” where you will view some of the world’s most famous movie scenes – including the Wizard of Oz, Alien, Mary Poppins, and many more! This ride is great because not only is it ALL indoors, but the ride itself lasts a whopping 22 minutes! That means you get to sit and be entertained for nearly half an hour – an invaluable thing on a hot Florida day I think!

Test Track – Epcot’s Future World is home to this recently re-designed attraction, where you’ll find concept and new vehicles in the lobby area, and as you make your way through the line you will enter the Chevrolet Design Center – where you get to create your very own vehicle and put it to the test on the track! The ride cars seat 6, and they take you through – you guessed it – a “test track” where your car is put to speed, endurance, and heat tests – and much more! One thing to note is that a small portion of this ride does go outside, but it’s a very short outdoor ride and you’re going pretty fast during it anyway, so I personally still consider this an “indoor” ride. After the test is complete, you exit into a Chevrolet showroom complete with current models and salespeople to assist with any questions you might have. NOTE– I HIGHLY recommend you try and get a Fastpass for this attraction – wait times can creep up to two hours or more during peak times, and while I relish escaping the heat, two hours is a bit much for me!

Pirates Of The Caribbean – This is one of my family’s Magic Kingdom favorites – there’s rarely a long line, its dark and cool in the queue and ride areas, and hello – PIRATES?! Doesn’t get much better than that! Oh – and did you know that this attraction actually inspired the series of blockbuster movies starring Johnny Depp? It’s not often that a theme park ride inspires a movie – and what’s even better is once the movies were made, Disney made updates to include the new characters in the ride too! As you enter the ride queue, you’re taken down a long winding path with a lot of theming to check out along the way. Once you board your boat, you are taken into a Caribbean city port where there’s a raucous pirate takeover happening right before your eyes! The ride itself lasts about 8 minutes, and it takes you through several famous Pirates scenes (keep an eye out for Captain Jack Sparrow!) and while it may sound kind of scary, its really more fun and lively than frightening – perfect for the whole family!

Carousel of Progress – Tomorrowland is home to this classic attraction – created by Walt itself, it features a rotating theater that takes you through the decades and eras of our past – and how we have come so far in the fields of electricity and technology in the past century. The first Act showcases the turn of the century, then you move to the 1920’s, then the 1940’s, then on to the 1990’s. The show itself is about 20 minutes long, and even though there’s hardly a wait, if there ever is one – I encourage you to stick it out and make sure you see this attraction! There are so few things that Walt himself fully created in the Parks – and I love the creativity and innovation he shows through this classic attraction

There are many more indoor attractions at the WDW Parks, but these are my personal favorites that help me beat that Florida heat. What about you – which rides do you escape to during those hot hot Disney days?

Catie Hiltz is an avid Walt Disney World lover who has been vacationing there since she was tall enough to ride Space Mountain. She believes there is something for everyone at WDW-and especially writing about the benefits of vacationing there as an adult